User Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by MuddyFeet:

Enjoyed on-tap at the San Francisco Public House. Was described to me as a mix of a brown ale and IPA.

The lighting was dark but it looked a fairly thin brown black in color. Moderate carbonation that was more felt than seen. Slight head that completely dissolved into the beer. Nose was peated malts but with a bit more hops than usualy with such malts.

Flavor was a blend of two styles. Not quite sure where to drop this. Had mild characteristics of an IPA but with some malty and smokey tidbits of certain brown ales. Quite a nice blend. Not overly hoppy. Medium mouthfeel that was not oppressive on the palate. Very nice offering.

More User Reviews:

Leave it to Rogue to make a black IPA,I was really enthused with the pour kind of a murky black not quite ink black but black a very thin almost non exsistant head atop if thats what you wanna call it.Lighter aromas I picked up some pine and dark bread with just a hint of honey,the flavors were more forthcoming that trusty Rogue resiny,piney hop profile shows thru overtop of pumpernickel-like bready flavors with a touch of sweetness but the hops are the main flavor I picked up and for me thats always a good thing.Different is a word I would use to describe tis beer I liked it but I wouldnt run out to grab another still Iam glad I tried it nonetheless.

A really good bitterness, enjoyed on-tap yesterday at the Tap and Mallet. Perhaps the way it was served, was getting only a modest roast and citrus hop. Dark ruby colour, lots of creative lace on my glass.Very fresh, was getting chocolate malt and coffee.Drinkable but more of a sipper than an IPA. Cross betwee IPA and a shwartzbeer, with good citrus.

im on board with Mikejo, Stouts and IPAs are my favorite styles of beer, and a dark IPA or hoppy stout just makes me smitten.

It was poured into a ceramic mug with a thick toasted almond head that retained itself for a good 5 minutes, but kept me from appreciating whatever color it really was inside. This is quite a hoppy ale that is complemented wonderfully by the malts and coffee often experienced in stouts. Brutal Bitter is quite drinkable, it really gets a nice balance in its flavors.

d - quite drinkable and at 5%, almost qualifies as a sessionable beer, taste is interesting and alcohol is not evident

Very interesting beer indeed. Not knowing that this was an IPA when I ordered it, imagine my surprise to hoist the near-black brew up and get big whifs of citrusy hops. Too bad this brew is more widely available because it's definitely one of the best Rogue offerings I've had. Well worth seeking out.

From notes 2/08...On tap at Capone's.
Appears a dark brown with black notes when held up to the light. The small, off-white head fades into a mild cap. Spotty lacing is left around the glass.
Smell is of earthy, grapefruit, bitter granes, black patent malt, and fresh hops.
Taste is of the mentioned aromas with stronger, bitter grapefruit and a touch of coffee.
Mouthfeel is bitter overkill with bitter, astringent, black grains running along the tongue. Nice hop presence but not the best balance between the malts and hops.

On-tap at the Sanctuary in Iowa City. The third John's Locker Stock brew to be featured at said establishment. Coincidentally, all three of these released have been my favorite beers from Rogue, however similar they may be, with exception to the consistency of the body.

This beer pours to a nice black color, as one would expect, with only a hint of an amber hue shining from the sides. Of course, the Sanctuary is quite dimly lit, so it may or may not have been closer to a shade of brown. Has a nice collar of brown head with a good retention and lacing.

The smell is great. Nice orange and grapefruit hoppiness with a hint of pine resin. An even smaller hint of chocolate malt underlying. This one is all about the hops, though, it seems.

The flavor is excellent as well. Very nice orange flavor with hints of peach and apricot as well as a subtle pine. Very little roasted malt character for such a dark beer. Sure, there is a bit of a chocolate malt flavor to it, but none of the roastiness that usually comes with it. As I said before, this one is all about the hops. Very lovely hops, I might add. None of the pacman diacetyl flavors I usually get from a Rogue beer (with a few exceptions, particularly the JLS series).

The body is medium. Crisp carbonation offsets the wonderful bitterness. The alcohol is light, making this quite a poundable brew. I will be back for it, that's for sure.

Waitress advertised this one as the Brutal Bitter, so I have to say I was a little confused at first sip. But after discussing it with the bartender, got it all figured out, and enjoyed it. Pours a nice looking dark amber-brown color with a good bit of head. Nose is fairly mild, hops with a little fruitiness too. Taste is solid IPA; hops at the start and end, a touch of stout-ish coffee in the middle, but this one didn't seem as out there as some reviews seem to show. Feel is solid, medium body. Overall, it's a tasty IPA, although not particularly original in my book.

Pours a dark mahogany with a nice beige head that seems to have a gray hue to it. It has a wonderful roasted characteristic to it. Similar to the brutal bitter but very different also. This beer is awesome. The roasted notes really make it impressive. And like many Rogues, the drinkability is outstanding.

Pours a deep dark cloudy mahogany, with good head and retention. A strange mix of styles, but a good-looking beer.

Smells mainly of grapefruity hops.

The taste is surprising given the looks. Grapefruit and pine are in the forefront, accompanied by malt in the far background, and a long finish with a note of roastiness, but eventually gets back to grapefruit as the hops work their magic.

Mouthfeel smooth with medium carbonation.

I am a sucker for Rogue's beers, but I found this one really intriguing. A black IPA. Really drinkable.

As a big fan of brutal bitter, this was no large jump for me. This particular brew however, has less of the citrus taste of the brutal, while retaining the crisp finish that I was hoping for.

Where this brew excells is in it's color, quality, and drinkability. I am part of the 100 beer club in a local bar, so it behooves me to try a new beer every time I order, however, this brew was always my first, last and often some in between.

It has a rich, dark, amber color and smells of crisp hops. The flavor changes as you drink it, starting dark, turning rich and ending very crisp.

If you ever meet me in the mellow mushroom, you will certainly see me with a pint!

It pours a murky-looking Stygian black, more like a stout than a bitter, English or otherwise. A finger or so of tan head dwindles soon to frothy cosmos. Lacing hands in tapestries along the inside of the glass.

The aroma is a duel between baked bread grain and floral and citrus hops. The malt is dusty and sweet, and the hops tote a general spice character as well as pine, and a touch of coffee came as little surprise, considering.

Upon tasting, the roasted grain is prominent initially, with crusty biscuit mingling with a sugary but subversive sweetness. Dark cherries precede the hop-driven citrus, with dry grapefruit and once again pine, but with the bitterness more notable than the actual flavors. A dark chocolate presence moves into a decidedly crisp and lingering bitter finish. The flavor is nothing the appearance would lead you to expect, but it is fine in its own right.

Between light and medium bodied, it is reasonably slick, coating and ebbing in a rapid cycle, and leaving a peppery glow in its wake.

You can't help but think stout, or at least porter, when you see it, and so the aroma and flavor come across a bit off-center, and that's a plus in this instance. Maybe it's not something that would stand out without a bit of novelty backing it, but neither would it be anything short of tasty and nicely drinkable. It's a limited-release beer that bucks the BIG BEER trend and it's refreshingly enjoyable because of it. This is the kind of good thing that can happen when you switch up a bit and sit at the front bar at Monk's instead of the back.

Taste: Starts out with a black bread flavor that turns slightly fruity, mid-palate; after the swallow, a bitter, almost astringent wave overtakes the bready elements and provide an almost burnt, smokey finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Drinkability: Normally I wouldn't care for the astringent bitterness in a standard IPA, but with this beer it provides and interesting foil to the black bread malty flavors

Dark brown, approaching opaqueness, with some highlighting around the edges. Pitted thick oatmeal-stout-grey cap, great retention although the legs aren't much as it turns out.

Aromas of citric zest and roasted malt, just about equally. Good power, very aromatic and enticing.

Again, great balance between the grapefruity West Coast hops and the subtle sweet-and-bitter dance of the roasted black malts. Reading the other reviews, JLS 07 has clearly faded with age, leaving what was in your face hopping now delightfully meshed with the other characteristics of the brew.

Medium mouthfeel for a beer of this color, pretty damn good for style. The finish is chocolate-malty, with a tang of hoppy bitterness, quite creamy and smooth.

I wish I could side by side with a fresh Black Brutal, as this was very mellow and approachable, a bit of a misnomer in the way that Brutal Bitter is in no way overly descriptive (for a hop head). Excellent beer to find on tap.

Had this at Summits in Snellville, GA at their monthly cask night last month I believe. Poured black wwith browwn highlights, and a big bubbled tan head that fades. decent carbonation ffor a cask. Aromas are creamy and roasty and a bit nutty. Not much hop proffile comes through the roastiness. Taste is similar. There are some earthy hops, but the flavors are dominated by a roasty, nutty, creamy profile. Especially creamy and with roasted pecan flavors at the finish. Creamy and smooth in the mouth, with a bit of drying in the finish. Nice on cask, but I'd probably like it less on draft. Where is the hoppiness?

Got it on tap at the Lionheart in Albany. . . . Hand-written note on the tap handle says "Black Bitter." A quick search here and I was a little confused as to whether it was the Black Brutal Bitter (aka "Skullsplitter") or the JLS Release #23, Black Brutal '07. I checked the Rogue website and there's a "redux" note after the Black Brutal '07, so I'm guessing that means they've issued it again. Given that, and after comparing my notes to the style descriptions and some of the latest reviews of both, I've concluded that it was likely the JLS Release I had last night. . . .

A: In a dimly-lit bar, the body appears black. However, held up to a light, the edges look more dark or even medium brown with mahogany hues. A 1-finger light beige head settles to leave good rings of lace down the glass.

S: Kind of muted - a little bit of roasted malt and a little bit of hops - just a tad bit piney, I think, but not terribly dominant in the nose.

T: Basic impression is this: roasted malt with a very dry and strong bitterness at the finish. As it warms a little, I get a hint of roasted coffee and even some fruit underneath that bitterness. The dry, bitter finish coats the mouth nicely and lingers long after each sip. The hop bitterness was kind of neutral, if that makes sense -- maybe a tad bit lemony, but otherwise didn't impart heavy hop flavors like citrus or pine or grass. Instead, it was about basic bitterness. I liked it.

M: Light to medium in heft, good carbonation.

D: Very good. I tend to mix up my beers, rarely drinking the same one twice when there's a lot on tap to try. But I liked this so much that I ordered a second pint. Both went down very easily.

Notes: Thanks to mikelionheart for the recommendation. A good beer that I was glad to try.

T - Like a toasted porter has rich dark malt, but smooth and hardly any roasted malt flavor. The hops match the malt the hops have spice/pine flavor and then some. very tasty bitter w/ a little dark malt thrown in and Nw Hops. This beer has great balance and nice flavor combination going on.

D - Rich toasted flavor @ 6% this is highly quaffable and nice of use of spice for a black bitter. This is very enticing - definitely a must try

Sampled on Tap at 1702, Tucson AZ; 2008 JLS Release
This beer arrives with a brown tinged, tan colored, creamy textured, one-finger thick head. The beer is a very dark brown color and quite clear. The aroma smells of chocolate / cocoa and toasted malt up front and once you start to dig around, some notes of pine and citrus. As the beer warms up a bit the hop character becomes much more noticeable in the nose and actually ends up on equal footing with the malt in the aroma.

The flavor is so much more hop focused than I expected (based on the aroma at least); there is a ton of bitterness, lots of pine flavors and notes of candied citrus peel. This is definitely a bit green in its hop intensity, a bit astringent, but still nicely balanced for a very hoppy beer (e.g. it doesn't get too harsh). This is really an super hoppy IPA that was brewed with dark malts. There is a touch of roasted, toasty grain and maybe a touch of chocolate that struggles to be noticed through all of the hop character. This is quite quaffable with a light-medium fullness that is just enough to carry the hops.

Quite a tasty beer, enjoyable if you have a hop-hankering and the dark malt adds a light, other-dimensioned note to what is otherwise a hoppy IPA.